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Home , Siddhartha of Kundagrama, Trishala, Vaisakhi

Holy Days, Celebrations, and Observances of April 2018

Chaplaincy Services

Holy Days With Fixed Date

April 1 Palm Sunday Orthodox Christian (Please see description of Palm Sunday in March’s Newsletter)

April 3 Mahavir Jayanti Jain Mahavir Jayanti is one of the most auspicious in the Jain community. This day marks the birth of Vardhamana , who was the 24th and the last (spiritual teacher) of Avasarpini — half of the worldly cycle of time, according to the . Mahavir Jayanti usually falls in the month of March or April according to the Gregorian , and this year, it falls on March 29. According to Jain texts, Lord Mahavira was born on the 13th day of the bright half of the moon in the month of Chaitra in the year 599 BCE. There are several historians who believe that he was born in a place called Ahalya and the land has not been ploughed for hundreds of years by the family that owns it. Lord Mahavir was named Vardhamana, which means “one who grows”. Born to Mahavira King and Queen , Mahavira belonged to the Ikshvaku dynasty. According to Jain mythology, it is believed that during his birth, the queen used to have a number of auspicious dreams of a great soul. While Svetambaras believe that the actual number is 14, claim it is 16. According to one school of thought, it is said that back then the astrologers had predicted quite early that the child would either be a Chakravartin (benevolent universal ruler) or a Tirthankara. This is celebrated widely by the Jain community in memory of the last spiritual teacher of the religion. A procession is called with the idol of Lord Mahavira called the Rath Yatra. Reciting stavans or Jain prayers, statues of the lord are given a ceremonial bath called abhisheka. The last Jain Tirthankara taught (non-violence), (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity) and aparigraha (non-attachment) to his disciples and his teachings were called Jain Agamas. It is believed that the saint attained (liberation from the cycle of birth and death) at the age of 72. Devotees also chant his prayers and teaching on this day.

April 6 Holy Friday Orthodox Christian (Please see description of Good/Holy Friday in March’s Newsletter)

April 8 Pascha/Easter Orthodox Christian (See description in March’s Newsletter)

ChildrensNational.org/ChaplaincyServices April 13 Lailat al Miraj The Story of Laylat al-Miraj. In the Qur’an’s 17th chapter, Surah al-Isra, there is a brief description of the physical journey in the first verse. “Glory to Him Who carried his servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Furthest Mosque, whose precincts We have blessed, to show him Our wonders! He it is Who is All-Hearing, All-Seeing! Remember when we said to you that your Lord encompasses mankind in His knowledge. Nor did We make the vision We showed you except as a test to people, as also the accursed tree in the Qur’an.” From the teachings of diferent hadiths more is learned about the Journey. The voyage to Jerusalem from Mecca by the Prophet is considered as the Isra part of the journey. It commenced in the Great Mosque where Muhammad met the Archangel Jibrīl (or Gabriel, Jibrā’īl) who had brought Buraq, the traditional divine spirited horse of the prophets, with him. The steed took the Prophet to the “farthest mosque,” al-Aqsa Mosque, in Jerusalem. Muhammad disembarked from Buraq and tethered it to the Temple Mount. He then performed a prayer, and God commanded Gabriel to test him. Anas ibn Malik, a popular associate of Muhammad, said that Muhammad said, “Jibrā’īl brought me a vessel of wine, a vessel of water and a vessel of milk, and I chose the milk. Jibrā’īl said, “You have chosen the Fitrah (or common sense, primordial human nature, instinct). Mir’aj, the second part of the voyage, was a spiritual one where Muhammad went to heaven on the back of Buraq. Mir’aj in Arabic is a ladder in its literal meaning. In the skies, he explored the seven stages of heaven and interacted with the seers who came before him such as Isa (Jesus), Musa (Moses), Ibrāhīm (Abraham) and Yahyā ibn Zakarīyā (John the Baptist). Muhammad was also taken to sacred tree in the seventh heaven, Sidrat al-Muntaha. The tree indicates the end of the seventh heaven. It also marks the border where no creation can go through. Muhammad was then allowed through and met with Allah where he instructed Muhammad that Muslims should pray five times a day. Some Muslims today honor and celebrate this event by ofering prayers during this night while others in other nations celebrate the night by lighting up cities with candles and electric lights. Believers congregate into mosques and perform supplication and prayer. Others also decide to honor this day by passing down their knowledge about ‘the journey’ explaining how Jibrā’īl purified Muhammad’s heart in preparation for his spiritual journey to the seventh heaven. After the spiritual, physical and mental wor- ship, they are served with foods and treats. Baisakhi Sikh Baisakhi, also spelled Vaisakhi, is the festival which celebrates Sikh and the founding of the Sikh community, known as the , in 1699. It is celebrated on April 13 or 14. It was originally a in the before it became the Sikh’s most important festival. In 1699, from all over the Punjab gathered together to celebrate the local harvest festival of Baisakhi. Gobind Singh came out of a tent carrying a sword and requested that anyone prepared to give his life for his religion come forward. A young Sikh came forward and disappeared into the tent with the Guru. Then the Guru reappeared alone with his sword covered in blood and asked for another volunteer. This was repeated another four times until a total of five Sikhs had gone into the tent with him. Everyone present was very worried until eventually all five emerged from the tent alive, with , and wearing . The five became known as the Panj Piare, or ‘Beloved Five’ The men were then baptized into the Khalsa by the Guru. He said some prayers over the five and they were sprinkled with the amrit (holy water). This is how the Amrit ceremony came into being and these five Sikhs became the first members of the Khalsa (fully initiated, the word means “pure”).

April 21 - May 2 Ridvan Baha’i The Ridván Festival is celebrated from sunset 21 April to sunset 2 May. The festival marks Bahá’u’lláh’s time in the garden of Ridván in 1863 and his announcement that he was the prophet promised by the Báb. Bahá’u’lláh ordained this festival ‘Most Great Festival’. The 1st, 9th and 12th days are especially holy days. They commemorate the arrival of Bahá’u’lláh at the Ridván Garden, the arrival of his family and his departure. These three holy days are marked by communal prayers and celebrations, and are days on which no work is done. Since Abdu’l-Bahá’s time, Bahá’í elections have normally been held during Ridván. Local spiritual assemblies are elected on the first day of Ridván, while elections for national spiritual assemblies happen later in the festival. Bahá’u’lláh’s declaration that he was the prophet heralded by the Báb was not made public for over a year. Bahá’u’lláh made the announcement when he arrived in Ridván to Abdu’l-Bahá and four others, but told them to keep it a secret. Bahá’u’lláh did not just announce that he was the prophet. He also said that there would be no other prophet for 1000 years, that his followers could not fight to protect or promote the Bahá’í faith and that “all the names of God were fully manifest in all things”. The last statement is taken by Bahá’ís to mean that the world had been mystically transformed and that there was now a new relationship between God and humanity. The Ridván Garden in Baghdad was originally named Najibiyyih. Bahá’u’lláh renamed it Ridván, which means Paradise. Bahá’u’lláh had been exiled to Baghdad from Tehran in Persia in 1853, but in 1863 the authorities began to fear that he might be a focus for political unrest there. It was decided that Bahá’u’lláh would now be exiled to Istanbul. So that his family and followers could prepare for the journey, Bahá’u’lláh left his house on 22 April 1863 and moved to the Najibiyyih Garden, where he proclaimed the Festival of Ridván. The festival begins 2 hours before sunset on 22 April, as that was the time he arrived in the Garden. Bahá’u’lláh also had a garden called ‘Ridván’ outside Akka during the final part of his life. Sources for this newsletter: indianexpress.com, worldreligionnews.com, bbc.co.uk. All photo are from the subscription service, Shutterstock, unless otherwise noted.

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